Pinky Swear
by haunted-eternity
Summary: She was left alone in her office when he left with Ducky. One person goes to her to get him back, promising that she will take care of everything as long as she knows the fearless leader will be back soon. Spoilers for Hiatus. Jenny/Gibbs.


Disclaimer: I dont own NCIS.

This is post-Hiatus and pre-Season 4... like right after Gibbs leaves with Ducky...

* * *

Jenny walked up the stairs, back to her office and shut the door, her back resting against it, the cool metal against her skin making her feel alive even as he world was crumbling.

She heard a hesitant knock, knowing it wasn't Cynthia, she had sent her home hours ago, she opened the door to find a teary eyed Goth in front of her.

"Can I come in" Abby asked quietly.

Jenny nodded and moved out of the way, watching as Abby looked around the room. She noticed that the young woman's eyes were on the decanter and the two glasses of bourbon at the conference table.

"You okay Abs" Jenny asked hesitantly, knowing though they didn't get along famously, though she still cared for the young woman Jethro admired.

Abby sat down in the chair Gibbs had just vacated moments ago, holding the glass of bourbon in her hands, sniffing it as that could somehow get Gibbs back here.

"Is he really gone" she asked.

Jenny went to her window that overlooked the Anacostia River, knowing that she didn't want to see anyone watch her shed tears for a man that just walked out of her life, just like she did six years ago to him.

"I'm afraid so" Jenny said, not turning to watch Abby.

Abby looked down into the glass she was holding and then back up to the woman who's back was to her. She slowly lifted the glass to her lips taking a gulp of the amber liquid and spitting it back into the cup, throwing it down on the table and coughing.

Jenny tuned as she heard something being set down, watching as Abby coughed at the taste.

"How do you drink that stuff" Abby asked, getting her voice back.

Jenny laughed quietly, "It's an acquired taste."

"It's sick, that's what it is" Abby smiled, "Though it reminds me of the silver fox, so I guess it has some good qualities."

Jenny smiled sadly and turned back to the window, looking at the sun that was now coming over the horizon.

She heard more than saw the young Goth move to her side and looking down at her.

"You miss him" Abby said knowingly.

"Silly isn't it" Jenny said, "Not even gone an hour."

"Its love" Abby shrugged, engulfing Jenny in a hug.

Jenny tried to stop the tears, but Abby's hug had broken through the walls she created. She sobbed into the younger woman's shoulder, listening to her whispering into her ear and stroking her hair in a soothing motion.

"I'm sorry" Jenny said a few minutes later, pulling away from Abby and running a hand under her eyes, cleaning herself up.

"It's okay" Abby said.

They watched as the sun set, casting a warm golden hue over the DC area.

"It's beautiful" Abby said, looking out at the water and the sun's reflection.

"One of Jethro's favorite things to look at. We used to stay up all night long sometimes and…" Jenny trailed off, smiled sadly and realized she was about to confirm what everyone at NCIS was betting on.

"Go get him" Abby said, ignoring the nugget of information for now, she could use it later, when everyone was more upbeat.

Jen turned to her, knowing that no one knew where he was going.

"No one knows where he is" Jenny said slowly.

"No one but you" Abby said knowingly.

"He doesn't want me there Abs" Jenny tried.

"He remembered you first, he's confused and he needs you" Abby told her, "He needs someone he can trust, someone that loves him."

"I" Jen began, but stopped as she knew saying a lie wouldn't placate Abby.

"Go" Abby said smiling.

"There's too much to do" Jenny said.

"I'll take care of it" Abby said, looking at the woman in front of her in the eyes. Watching as the dull green eyes finally got a hint of a sparkle in them.

"Promise" Jenny asked.

"If you promise to bring him home" Abby said, holding out her pinky.

Jenny smiled softly and brought her pinky together with Abby's, laughing quietly as they pinky swore their agreement.

--

She hadn't wanted to take her private jet to Mexico, but Abby insisted, saying it was safer and that she'd get there around an hour or two after Gibbs.

Jenny reluctantly agreed and had Abby drive her to the air field, along the way Jenny told her what to have Cynthia do in her absence.

"We're here" Abby said as Jenny pulled into the gates of the restricted base of Andrews Air Force Base.

"Swipe this" Jenny said, handing Abby a card that the younger woman noticed had a Presidential seal on it.

Doing as she was told, Abby swiped it and watched as the gates opened, now getting a better view of where Jenny had to go to when she made all those trips around the different NCIS headquarters.

Pulling into where Jenny directed her, Abby watched as a Legacy private jet was being taken out of its hanger, seeing the NCIS emblem on the door Abby smiled a bit.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye" Abby said, getting out of the car as Jenny did so herself.

"It's not goodbye, its good luck" Jenny smiled, coming around to hug the young woman she had quickly bonded with over Gibbs' mini hiatus he was about to take.

"I'll hold down the fort, you get the fearless leader back" Abby said, hugging her back.

"Thank you Abby" Jenny said as she released her and walked towards her private jet.

Abby watched the older woman walk away, seeing that her posture was still sunk and upset, but there was also a hint of excitement as she walked up the stairs to the body of the plane.

Jenny looked back as soon as she took the last step, waving quickly to Abby as she turned to move to go inside.

Abby smiled and waved back, hoping that this would somehow bring the silver haired fox and the red head back together, once and for all.

--

The sun was close to setting again as she walked the road to what the Cantina told her was Frank's house. A woman by the name of Camilla asked if she needed company, but Jenny declined, wanting the time to think about what she was going to say to Gibbs.

As she rounded the corner, she saw a man in the hammock, assuming it was the man she spoke to on the phone days ago. She looked around and spotted the familiar figure sitting on the steps to the beach house, though it looked more like a shack than a house to her. As if sensing her presence, he cast his glance over his surroundings, slowly making out her figure in the setting sun light.

She tried to glance away, but his gaze held hers, even when Franks had asked him a question.

"Probie, what the hell you lookin' at" Franks said, watching as his protégé stared out at the road behind the hammock.

"Just something" Gibbs said, taking a drink of his bottle before getting up off the steps and heading off in Jen's direction.

Franks watched him get up and leave, he sat up in the hammock and finally saw the reason the younger man was staring out at the drive. He sighed and brought the bottle of Corona to his lips, laying back down and ignoring the two people standing at the edge of his property.

"Jen" Gibbs said as he came closer to her.

Jenny let out a small smile at the nickname; he was the only one to call her that.

"You remembered" she said quietly.

"That I call you Jen" he smiled slightly, "Yeah I did."

Jenny smiled slowly and nodded, the silence enveloping them.

Gibbs nodded off to the beach and Jenny followed him, both slinking away from the watchful eye of Mike Franks.

"And you're here because" Gibbs asked as they sat in the sand.

Jenny shrugged her shoulders once and looked out at the ocean.

"I suppose you're here to check up on me then" he said, watching her closely.

Jenny looked over at him and bit her lip, nodding once.

"How's your memory" she asked for the first time.

"Some blank spots still about more recent things, but mostly up to date" he said looking out to the surf again.

"That's good" she said, also looking out to the surf.

They sat quietly on the sand, watching the sun set across the ocean. Just as soon as he looked over and was about to ask a question, he was interrupted.

"She stayin' for dinner Probie" Franks yelled across the way.

Jen looked over at Gibbs and their eyes met, he raised the question to her and she answered without words and smiled.

As Gibbs looked back to answer Franks he saw the man was gone inside the house.

"Guess we should go in and help" Jenny asked.

"Suppose so" Gibbs said, getting to his feet first and holding out a hand to help her up.

She accepted his hand and he lifted her carefully, "You know I could have done it myself" she said, protesting after the fact.

"I know" he said, his mind all of a sudden flashing back to the many times he had tried to help her out, it usually ended in a playful beating up, which lead to the usual nightly routine they were so fond of.

"Jethro" her voice sounded distant to him.

"Jethro" she said again, watching as he came out of whatever memory he was reliving.

He shook his head slowly and returned to the present.

"Where were you just now" she asked him.

"Nowhere" he said, letting go of her hand, somehow regretting that he did.

She raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"Let's go inside" he said, moving toward the door to the beach house.

Jen followed in behind, determined to get him to talk to her eventually.

--

They all sat around in the kitchen, Franks looked between the two as discreetly as possible.

"If you have a question, ask it" Jenny said, taking a bite of the fish Gibbs and Franks had caught before she arrived.

"What if I have more than one" he asked, raising his fork.

"Ask, I might answer" she said shrugging.

"Alright, here's one" he asked, "How long are you here for?"

He looked at her carefully, and watched as she glanced at Gibbs out of the corner of her eye.

"Probably just tonight" she asked, "You getting tired of me already?"

"Nope, just wondering if I should go to the cantina tonight" he asked.

"If you want to get drunk off your ass that's fine by me, don't let me disrupt your usual activities" Jenny said, finishing off the plate.

Franks got up and put his plate in the sink, "You comin' Probie" the older man asked.

Gibbs looked to Jen and then back to Franks again, "Nah" he said "you go on ahead."

"Fine by me, more beer" he said, heading out the door, leaving the two alone.

--

"Abby wants you to come back you know" she said when they were settled outside again, two bottles of Corona in hand.

He nodded and took a drink before responding.

"I have no doubt" he said, "But I can't right now, I can't go back to somewhere I can't remember my own team beyond their names and what was in the files you gave me" he said regretfully.

"Jethro" she said, moving closer to his side and looking at his profile, "I'm not here to drag you back by force; I just want you to want to come back. The fact is, you're good, the best. When you're as good at something as you are, when you can make a difference like you can, you just don't quit."

He looked at her carefully, looking into her eyes that held unshed tears.

"I remember everything Jen" he said quietly, "I can remember, I just forget how it feels."

"What do you mean" she asked.

"I can remember us, every memory of us, I just don't remember how it felt" he murmured.

"Are you beating yourself up over that Jethro" she asked.

He looked at her expression and wanted to laugh at face she was making.

"No" he lied, holding his head down he quickly changed his mind as she saw her giving the look to him. "Okay, so what if I am" he said.

"Then you need to stop Jethro" she said quietly. "You can't do this to yourself and to your team."

"What about you" he asked, knowing she purposefully didn't include herself.

"You don't have to worry about me Jethro, I can handle myself like I've been doing for the last six years" she told him honestly.

"I need some time Jen" he said, looking back out towards the ocean.

"I know that Jethro, I'm not asking you to return right away, I just need to know if you're coming back so I can tell Abby" she said, looking over him again, just now noticing all the wounds he had sustained.

He returned his gaze to hers, looking her in the eye carefully.

"I'll come back" he said slowly.

She nodded and drank the rest of her drink, setting it down beside her and standing up, moving towards the ocean ahead of him without a word to him.

He watched her walk away slowly from him and saw her wrap her arms around herself as she stood at the edge of what he knew would be high tide.

She walked slowly to the shore, stopping as the water lapped carefully around her feet. Hugging herself she stared out into the dark depths before her. She was trying not to let the entire trip have an effect on her, she claimed she was here for Abby, but as she talked to Gibbs, she realized that she was here for purely selfish reasons. As much as she hated to admit, she realized NCIS would not be the same without him, though her job might be easier, it would not be as enjoyable if Leroy Jethro Gibbs wasn't bothering her at every turn. She felt a presence behind her, but refused to turn back, she knew who it was.

Gibbs watched her for a few minutes, looking at her silhouette in the bright moonlight. He realized that this might be the only time she let her guard down, without the team, Ducky and Abby watching their every move, they could be themselves, like they were before she was appointed to Director. He remembered that they had been getting exceptionally close as of late, especially since her kidnapping a week ago. With this in mind, he lifted his drink to his lips, taking in the rest of it and setting it down next to Jen's empty one, finally getting up off the step and heading towards her as quietly as possible. He knew she heard him coming, or at least felt him coming towards her, but he noticed that she didn't turn around to make sure. He stood behind her, a breath away and looked out in front of them at the ocean.

She shivered slightly as the wind picked up, hugging herself tighter because she refused to move from this spot. She then felt a strong arm wrap around her waist and a tug as she moved back into his chest.

Moving her head to look up at him, she raised an eyebrow.

"Just keeping you warm" he said.

"A sweatshirt would do just the same" she quipped.

"Don't have one on me" he told her.

"I guess you'll do then" she said, relaxing her posture.

He smiled against the top of her head as he added his other arm to the mix.

They stayed like that for a while, staring out at the sea as the moonlight reflected on it.

"Are you staying the night" he asked.

She turned in his arms to face him and looked up.

"Do you want me to stay" she asked, knowing that this was his time and she didn't know what to do. For once she didn't have a plan; she was playing off her sleeve.

He looked at her carefully, and nodded, watching as a small smile played against her lips.

She hugged herself to him, blaming the wind that was starting to pick up at this evening hour.

"We can go inside of you want" he said though he didn't move.

"No, I'm fine" she smiled against his chest.

"Alright" he said, feeling her turn back to face the shore.

They stood in silence for a few minutes, until Jenny broke it.

"So you remember everything" she asked.

"I'm pretty sure of it" he told her, resting his head on her shoulder. "I remember last week" he said to her.

"Not one of the greatest ones I've had since becoming Director" she said, smiling to herself.

"That's for sure" he said, smiling into the back of her neck.

She moved her head unconsciously, giving his better access to her neck.

"Jethro" Jenny whispered.

"Jen" he whispered in her ear moving his arms lower down her waist, his thumbs skimming the skin between her top and pants she wore.

"We shouldn't be doing this" she said, but her actions contradicted what passed through her lips.

"Tell me to stop and I will" he said, feeling her move to face him once again.

"Are you just wanting to remember how it feels, or are you making the first move" she said, looking up at him.

"I believe I made the first move earlier" he said, raising an eyebrow as she remembered that he did make the first move, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Fine" she agreed.

"I believe it's your turn then, if I remember doing this correctly" he joked.

"Who said we had to take turns" she smirked.

"Jen" he laughed quietly to himself.

"Jethro" she smiled looking up at him.

He smiled at her as she pushed herself flush against him and rising up on her tip toes.

"Are you sure about this" she said, a breath away from his lips.

His answer was to bring his lips to hers, pressing them together. Her mouth moved on its own accord, skimming across his mouth. She released his lips and came back down to the balls of her feet, rocking back and forth slowly.

She slipped from his grasp and walked towards the shack, as she so kindly referred to it, and looked back tossing a look at Gibbs with an eyebrow raised.

He smiled and followed her in, moving her towards his bedroom and closing the door quickly, not wanting to be disturbed by Franks when he came in.

--

She woke up early the next morning, slowly slipping from his grasp she slipped on one of his shirts and some sweatpants she found in his bag by the end of the bed.

Slipping out of the room she smiled to herself as she did it successfully, now all she had to do was go and get some coffee.

Franks stood in the kitchen, pouring a cup of coffee and smirked as he saw her enter.

"Good morning Director" he said, pronouncing every syllable of her title.

"Morning" she said, grabbing a cup for herself.

"Lovely evening don't you think" he said.

She took a drink of the coffee and realized that this is where Gibbs must have found his love for the stuff.

"It was pleasant" she smiled.

"Probie not up yet" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope" she said, taking her coffee with her as she walked away, feeling his eyes on her she smiled, "Stop staring at my ass."

"I have to admit, Probie has good taste" he said as she turned the corner. Shaking his head he took his coffee outside and settled against the front steps, giving the couple their privacy.

--

She climbed back in bed, sitting against the headboard and watched as he stirred slowly.

"Hey" she whispered, taking another sip of coffee.

"Mmh" he grumbled, sitting up beside her and stealing her coffee.

She rested her head on his shoulder, watching him as he drank her coffee.

"I'm leaving today" she said slowly.

He looked down at her, his eyes meeting hers as she also looked up at him.

"Will you be okay" she asked.

"I'll be fine" he said, and he knew she caught the slight sad tone his voice carried.

She nodded against him.

"Are you going to come back" she asked him.

"Yes, I will" he said, "I will have unfinished business there."

"Like what" she asked, lifting her head off his shoulder and looking at him.

"Well you for one" he smirked as she smiled, "There's also my team and Abby."

"So I can tell her you're coming back" she wondered.

He smiled and handed back the empty coffee cup, "Yes you can tell her. Give her my number here for when she wants to call me."

"Thank you" she said, leaning forward and kissing him slowly.

He pulled back and looked her up and down.

"You could just say you like my outfit" she sassed as she placed the coffee cup on the table beside the bed.

He pulled her against him and started to undo the buttons slowly.

"I think I like it better off" he said.

"Glad you at least decided this time" she said, remembering the last time she told him he should just say he liked her dress.

"No more talking" he said, flipping her over so she landed on the bed below him, moving his head down to kiss her neck.

"No more foreplay" she rasped, hooking her legs over his hips.

He titled his head up at her and watched as she smiled seductively at him, pulling him closer to her to let him have his way with her.

--

Abby was waiting at the gate for Jen as she stepped off the private plane at Andrews.

Coming to a halt in front of the younger woman, Jen was pulled into the younger woman's arms.

"You're smiling" Abby squealed in her ear.

Jenny said nothing, but smiled wider.

"Aw, mommy and daddy back together again" she asked, walking with her arm over the older woman's shoulder as they went to the car.

"Abs" Jenny said, playfully warning her.

"Fine, I won't mention it to Tony, as long as you give me a date on when you guys do out yourselves. I promise I'll give you some of the pot" she said, holding the passenger side door open.

Jenny got in and waited for Abby to come around and get in the car.

"Jethro said he'd be coming back, doesn't know when, but he's coming back" Jenny said, smiling at Abby.

"Good, I'm glad we all got what we needed" she said, turning the key to start the engine.

"What do you mean" Jenny asked confused.

"Well, you got the silver haired fox in a committed partnership. Well you know, in all sense of the word partner, because I think the words boyfriend and girlfriend are too juvenile for you guys, I get the boss-man back, and everyone will be happy" she said as if it was the simplest thing to figure out.

"I see" Jenny said, smiling along with Abby.

"Life is good" Abby said slowly pulling out of the air force base.

Jenny smiled and thought about that morning, before she left, and she thought that life was indeed good, she had a good job, nice shoes and a good man. The only thing that would make it better would have been a cup of coffee.

"Oh, I forgot" Abby said as she stopped at the stop sign.

"What" Jenny said.

"I got you this as a welcome back and thank you present" Abby said, reaching back to the cup holder in the back and pulling a big cup of coffee and giving it to her.

Jenny's eyes lit up and Abby smiled widely.

"Life is indeed good" Jenny said, taking an appreciative sip of the hot liquid.

Abby smiled and continued driving, glad that her plan finally worked to get mommy and daddy back together again.

--

fin.


End file.
